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Guinea Pig With Pus Discharge From Ears!

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Rahul

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Hello everyone,

I have a 5 year old gal, who has pus discharge from her ear. Initially it had its head tilting to right and was eating little and always dull ...the vets in India don't havr expertise in treating a guinea pig, however prescribed be an antibiotic - enrofloxacin 50 mg...4 drops twice a day for 5 days accompanied by a ear drop - ofloxacin clotrimazole beta methadone and lignocaine drops. After using for some days it was feeling better and started being active playing with very little unbalanced walk.then the vet asked to stop the medication for three days she was very active started eating nicely with no visible pus discharge. And unfortunately after 4 days of stopping the medication , it completely lost balance and fell to one side all of sudden. The vet asked to continue the medication and suggested me culture and sensitivity test, my gal wouldn't eat anything after I give antibiotics so started to give probiotics myself-lactic acid bacillus fortified with vitamin capsules, she started to eat again and now thank god even while having a discharge still eating and is stable on her feet with a little head tilt and imbalance while walking. I had the swab test carried out and the test result was negative on any bacterial growth, now I wonder what's up with the pus discharge. Also did the test results come negative as I was using a ear drop continuosly. Because the vets in India don't have expertise with guinea pigs, Can any one suggest me what to do next and did anyone have similar experiences.I wonder if the infection started when she had a bath and not sure if water got into her ears, please help me save my gal.

Thanks in advance!

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Enrofloxacin is another name for Baytril, which is the go to medicine for vets when they're dealing with guinea pigs. I can't tell what the dose you are giving as you mention 4 drops but they look like tablets in the photo.

My only suggestion is that the medicines need to be given for a much longer time. 14 days of treatment is normal and on occasion I have given medicine for 28 days.

There are also stronger antibiotics that could be tried if the Baytril doesn't work.

If she does stop eating again you will need to hand feed her. There is a guide on this forum that show you how to do it. You'll need a few 1ml syringes and some pellets that have been moistened with water.
 
Thank you Jaycey, I went to another vet
today who checked and informed me that both ears are infected ...so he prescribed marbofloxacin tablets 50mg 1.5ml once for 5days...and lactic acid bacillus powder (probiotics) to be taken after 2hrs of antibiotics...and finally gentamicin sulphate betamethasone valerate and clotrimazole ointment...for 5days ... everything once in a day...

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Good luck @Rahul ! Hopefully you should see signs of improvement in 5 days but you might want to press the vet to let you use it for longer as an infection is unlikely to be cured in 5 days. Even if there is improvement in 5 days the problem cohld still be there.

Please try to weigh her on a daily basis, at the same time of day. If she loses weight or stops eating then you will have start syringe feeding.
 
I have nothing medically to add, but just wanted to say that I think you are doing an amazing job advocating for your guinea pig.
It can't be easy in a country where most vets probably never see a guinea pig.
I hope she starts to improve soon.
 
Good luck @Rahul ! Hopefully you should see signs of improvement in 5 days but you might want to press the vet to let you use it for longer as an infection is unlikely to be cured in 5 days. Even if there is improvement in 5 days the problem cohld still be there.

Please try to weigh her on a daily basis, at the same time of day. If she loses weight or stops eating then you will have start syringe feeding.

Hi Jaycey,

The vet did say it will completely cure in 15 days..he said in 5days everything will start to cure. Thanks for the feedback and such lovely comments. Cheers !
 
I have nothing medically to add, but just wanted to say that I think you are doing an amazing job advocating for your guinea pig.
It can't be easy in a country where most vets probably never see a guinea pig.
I hope she starts to improve soon.
 
Wishing you all the best- she is on an antibiotic and a multipurpose ear drop. The swab could have come back clean if antibiotics were already begun when it was taken, or sometimes unfortunately there just isn't a clear result, even with humans (a lot of times with people they do multiple cultures in case of either contaminants or a culture that doesn't contain enough bacteria to grow an identifiable colony.) I hope this does the trick for her! It's hard when vets aren't knowledgeable about guinea pigs, but you are doing a great job for her!
 
Wishing you all the best- she is on an antibiotic and a multipurpose ear drop. The swab could have come back clean if antibiotics were already begun when it was taken, or sometimes unfortunately there just isn't a clear result, even with humans (a lot of times with people they do multiple cultures in case of either contaminants or a culture that doesn't contain enough bacteria to grow an identifiable colony.) I hope this does the trick for her! It's hard when vets aren't knowledgeable about guinea pigs, but you are doing a great job for her!

Thank you!
 
My gal stopped eating the food, was eating before administration of this antibiotics.wht to do now? Should I stop the antibiotics?

I am very sad and really worried, can anybody suggest me what needs to be done.very urgent.I gave the probiotics...


Thanks in advance!
 
I beg everyone to please help, can anyone suggest any medicine ?
 
@Rahul Unfortunately there is no medicine that you can give her to make her eat.

She may be in pain from the infection. Have you been given any pain medication by the vet? The common one in the UK is Metacam (Meloxicam).

How is her weight? Is it stable or declining? If she is not eating then you will need to syringe feed her. There is a guide on the forum that will explain how. We have access to syringe food called Oxbow Critical Care but if we don't have any we use their pellets mixed with water.

You need a 1ml syringe and cut the tip off. You then suck up some of the food and syringe it into her mouth, 0.3ml at a time

The guide will explain in more detail.

If you don't have any pain relief please revisit the vet and ask for some.

Good luck!
 
My gal stopped eating the food, was eating before administration of this antibiotics.wht to do now? Should I stop the antibiotics?

I am very sad and really worried, can anybody suggest me what needs to be done.very urgent.I gave the probiotics...


Thanks in advance!

Please switch to syringe feeding; you can mush up pellets in an emergency. Our guide tells you amongst other practical tips how to prep the syringe so the pellet mush will get through. Your good care in this respect will make all the difference and carry your guinea pig through. Additionally you can give a pinch of probiotic either one hour before or 1-2 hours after the antibiotic to help support the guts. However, this does NOT replace the syringe feeding. Weigh once daily (kitchen scales from a supermarket will do) to check on the food intake so you can adjust the feed accordingly.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
First Aid Kit For Guinea Pigs

This reaction to baytril is unfortunately not uncommon, but it will come OK again once the course is finished.
All antibiotics can affect the appetite and can cause loss of it as they also work on the gut bacteria that are vital for the digestion. Baytril is unfortunately still the only officially licensed antibiotic for guinea pigs. Marbocyl or marboflaxacin is a stronger form of baytril; it should hopefully do the trick with your acute ear infection.
List of safe antibiotics: Guinea Lynx :: Antibiotics
List of dangerous medications: Guinea Lynx :: Dangerous Medications

Please DO NOT stop the antibiotic! An untreated ear infection can kill, while you can work around a loss of appetite. ;)

You can ask your vet for a painkiller/anti-inflammatory to help ease the pain, especially in the first days. Make sure that your guinea pigs are out of any drafts and strong temperature changes.
 
@Wiebke @Jaycey @Gem...Thank you everyone for all the suggestions you guys have made here, I really appreciate it and feel confident. Can't express how grateful I am and owe you guys so much. I have started hand feeding and have got pain killers.
 
What time interval should I maintain during hand feeding ?

Thanks in advance!
 
Another thing I have noticed, it is rubbing both upper and lower teeth..not sure why, anybody knows about this!

Thanks
 
@Rahul You need to weigh her daily, at the same time so you get an accurate measure of her weight. That will determine how much food you need to give her. I would aim for 5ml every few hours. But if she is losing weight you will need more

When you say rubbing her teeth, do you mean grinding them together and making a noise? That could mean she is in pain or discomfort. You can get a pain relief medicine from the vet.
 
@Jaycey Yes exàctly grinding and I can hear it.I am administrating her with a anti-inflammatory drops since yesterday evening..
Thanks in advance!

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What time interval should I maintain during hand feeding ?

Thanks in advance!

Please take the time to read the syringe feeding guide; it is all discussed in there. How often you need to feed depends a) on how much your piggy is eating on its own and b) how much syringe feed and water it is taking in one go.
The rule of thumb is that you need to feed the more often round the clock if a piggy is severely ill and can take only very little once (i.e. feeding every 2-3 hours day and night in a fight for its life) to just 2-3 feeding sessions a day if a guinea pig is still eating on its own or you get a large portion of syringe feed (15 plus) into it in one go. The full guidance with amounts and frequencies is in the guide. Of course, you also have work around your job and other commitments.

Teeth chattering (front teeth) is an expression of displeasure; teeth grinding (the back teeth) is a sign of pain.
 
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